Virginia considers $200 tax credit for beehives

Bills in the General Assembly would provide a $200 tax credit for beekeepers for each hive they maintain.

While it may sound kooky, Virginia’s bees are in trouble. The number of hives in the state have dropped from 100,000 in the 1970s to 35,000 today. Non-native pests and a mysterious phenomenon called colony collapse disorder are to blame.

The bill, which limits the credit to $2,400 per person and $500,000 total, is before the House and Senate (HB 300 and SB 354). The bill is important to farmers, especially Virginia’s apple growers, which rely on bees to pollinate their crops.